Half to henry merrill



. (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. G. F. HARRIS.

SLEIGH.

Patented Aug. 15'

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN (J. F. HARRIS, OF LITTLETON, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- IIALF TO HENRY MERRILL, OF SAME PLACE.

SLEIGH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,478, dated August 15, 1893.

Application filed April 11, 1893. Serial No. 46 9,895. (No model.)

T on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN C. F. HARRIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Littleton, in the county of Grafton and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Sleigh, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in sleighs.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of sleighs, and to provide one which will have a spring supporting body, and which will be strong and durable, and present an attractive appearance.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective View of a sleigh embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the knee post sockets. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail sectional views illustrating the means for attaching the ends of the springs to the transverse bars. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing one of the sockets with the rave and the post therein.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1-1 designate runners having their front ends curved upward. sigmoidally for supporting a dash board 2 and secured to upwardly curved front portions 3 of raves 4, which are supported by inwardly inclined knee posts 5. The posts 5 are supported by inclined braces 6, and are connected by front and rear transverse bars or beams 7 and 8 and a middle or intermediate bar or beam 9, which have their ends curved and secured to the posts 5. The front and rear transverse bars have their ends curved upward, and they serve to support the ends of side springs 10 to which are secured a body 11. The side springs are composed of leaves, and are substantially concave-convex or semi-elliptic with their convex faces upward. The front ends of the springs are connected with plates 11 of the front transverse bar by links 12; and the rear ends of the springs are curved beneath the rear transverse bar and extend upward, and are secured by bolts 13 to rearwardly extending cars 14 of clips 15. This particular means for attaching the springs to the transverse bars prevents horse motion which usually accompanies similar attachments in vehicles where shackles are employed.

The intermediate transverse bar has its ends curved downward, and the body 11 is suspended or supported within the frame or gear formed by the runners, posts and raves. transverse bars are braced by longitudinally disposed metal bars 16 having their ends secured to the upper faces of the end transverse bars, and fastened intermediate of their ends to the lower face of the intermediate transverse bar 9. The upper ends of the posts 5 are each fitted in a socket 17, which is rectangular and inverted and has a central opening 18 in its top. The upper end or top of the socket is provided with upwardly extending flanges 19, which it against the side faces of the rave, and the sides proper of the socket are provided with depending extensions 20, which are bolted to the opposite faces of a post. The socket is securely fastened to the rave by a bolt 21 having its head arranged within the socket, and extending upward through the rave. The depending extensions are arranged at right anglesto the flanges 19; and the relative disposition of the flanges and the extensions effectually prevents any lateral or longitudinal shifting of the socket on the rave or post. The bolts, which pass through the depending extensions 20, also serve for securing the braces or rods which extend from the runners to the tops of the posts. It will be seen that the body is spring supported and is suspended within the gear to insure great strength and durability, and 9 that the connections at the ends of the springs prevent any horse motion being communicated to the body.

Changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction maybe resorted The to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the details of the invention.

What I claim is 1. In a sleigh, the combination of runners, knee-posts rising from the runners, raves secured to the upper ends of the knee-posts, transverse bars connecting the knee-posts and having their ends curved, longitudinally disposed side springs secured to the transverse bars, the brace bars disposed longitudinally of the sleigh and secured to the transverse bars, and a body supported on the springs, substantially as described.

2. In a sleigh, the combination of runners, raves, knee-posts secured to the runners and supporting the raves, the transverse bars connecting the knee posts and having their ends curved, the curved ends of the end transverse bars extending upward and those of the intermediate transverse bar extending downward, the semi-elliptic leaf springs having their ends secured to the end transverse bars, and a body supported upon the springs, substantially as described.

3. In a sleigh, the combination of runners, raves, knee-posts supporting the raves, front, rear and intermediate transverse bars, longitudinally disposed leaf springs extending from one end transverse bar to the other and having their rear ends extending downward beneath the rear transverse bar and curved upward back of the same, clips mounted on the rear transverse bar and having ears receiving the rear ends of the springs, and links connecting the front ends of the springs with the front transverse bar, substantially as described.

4. In a sleigh, the combination of runners, raves, knee-posts supporting the raves, transverse bars connecting the posts, the longitudinally-disposed leaf springs having their front ends connected to the front transverse bar and having their rear ends curved downward beneath the rear transverse bar and upward back of the same and attached thereto, and abody supported upon said springs, substantially as described.

5. In a sleigh, the combination with a rave and a post, of a socket receiving the upper end of the post and provided with depending extensions, said socket having a perforation in its top and provided with upwardly extending flanges arranged at right angles to the extensions, a fastening device passing through the perforation of the top and securing the socket to the rave, and means for fastening the extensions to the posts, substantially as described.

6. In a sleigh, the combination of runners, raves, knee-posts secured to the runners and supporting the raves, the transverse bars connecting the knee-posts and having their ends curved, the curved ends of the end transverse bars extending upward and those of the intermediate transverse bar extending downward, and the body supported on springs within the space between the raves, substantially as described.

7. In a sleigh, the combination of runners, raves, knee-posts secured to the runners and supporting the raves, the transverse bars connecting the knee-posts and having their ends curved, the curved ends of the end transverse bars extending upward and those of the intermediate transverse bar extending down ward, the brace bars disposed longitudinally of the sleigh and secured to the transverse bars, and the body supported on springs within the space between the raves, substantially as described.

8. In a sleigh, the combination of the body runners, raves, knee posts and transverse bars, the longitudinally disposed leaf springs secured to the body and hinged at their front ends to one of the transverse bars by means of links, and the rear ends of the springs extending downward beneath the transverse bars and then curving around the same and hung by a pivot bolt to the rear side of said bar whereby horse motion is obviated, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. F. HARRIS. Witnesses:

W. H. MITCHELL, BURNS P. HODGMAN. 

